The Interview
by Soulreciever
Summary: A simple New York reporter is about to get the scoop of the centry in an exclusive interview with Ryuichi Sakuma, the one time lead singer of Nittle Grasper. Set about a year after the conclusion of the Manga. Mixed cannon. slash
1. Ryuichi

The interview.

T: Hi! This is my very first jaunt into this fandom but I'm not a newbie by any stretch of the imagination so don't feel the necessity to be nice to me, I want you're real opinions! I don't own the characters or Gravitation in general and I warn in advance that it'll be of a mixed cannon because I've only got as far as volume 7 in the manga…set about a year after the conclusion of the anime…some OOC and Slash…but then if you read Gravitation the latter shouldn't bother you!

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He smiles on of the wide and seductive smiles that have driven fans wild for years and he says,

"You took you're time getting to that question, didn't you? But then I suppose you've a want to keep the readers in anticipation for a little while."

"Will you answer, Sakuma-san?" She enquires, her pen already poised to write down the exclusive story that will finally get her no good boss to give her that promotion she has already worked her socks off for.

"Of course." The smile deepens into something truthful before he says, "It began three years ago now, back when Grasper was still divided and Bad Luck had not reached beyond the occasional school gig.

"It was rare for me to get fan mail from Japan any more, what with the cost to mail internationally and some of the fans blaming me for the divide between the group.

"Thus when an air mail letter clattered through my door it instantly caught my attention.

"I'd never been a wiz with Kanji even when I was younger and so it was nice to see that after a polite hello in perfectly scripted characters the letter changed into English; the pen strokes uncertain now as though the words were unfamiliar or copied from something else.

"It was a typical fan letter, ranting about how much they had loved me in Grasper and how much they adored my solo work and myself as a person.

"I was about to toss it to one side and get the studio to send back one of those 'thank you for your support, here is my signature, hope to see you at the next concert' letters they had saved onto hard drive when my eyes caught the next sentence.

'Sorry about that, had to get the fan stuff out of the way before I got serious.'

"After that the letter went on to discuss the writer's brother, of how low he was of late, how reserved and unlike himself.

"The writer told me that they knew about my brother's suicide back when I'd been little and my parents had just died and they wondered if I might help him help his brother before it became too late.

"Of course I replied, how could I not when all he wanted was a friend?

"I thought that would be an end to it, thought that he would find his own way to help his brother and not even use my pathetically simplistic advice.

"About a month later, though, the postman arrived with a small package that was again covered in the red and blue stripes distinct to air mail.

"A simple gold ring lay inside along with another letter and a simplistic drawing of two young men who looked so very similar and yet, judging by the victory sign that one was holding about the others head, of two very different personality types.

"The ring fit perfectly and the note, though childish still in the wording and diction, had me laughing to myself on several occasions as I read it.

"I wrote back because the letter had made me happy and I even sent him a picture of my own…a sketch of Kumagorouand myself if I recall correctly.

"After that we became pen pals, sending letters, pictures and presents to one another across the ocean.

"It was nice, actually, to have someone to talk to without putting on a show. To have someone who I could give a little of the me I had been keeping private…the me I did not want the world to see.

"In the summer after we'd began writing to one another, so about two months later, I was coming to Tokyo for some business and I suggested to him that we meet and perhaps go out somewhere together.

"That first meeting was as all first meetings, full of silences, misread signals and the chemistry that makes a friendship work.

"After that I started finding excuses to come back to see him, started cancelling interviews and generally doing major harm to my solo carer.

"K eventually put a stop to it and after placing me under hose arrest grilled me in regards to why I had been spending so much time in a country I had claimed to have a few months back.

"I tried every lie in the book until eventually K placed a gun to my head and said,

'You have been going over for dates.'

"Until that point I had not really considered a romantic liaison between us…not because of the age difference or our genders but just because it had not come to mind.

"Of course once K said the 'D' word I knew he was right, new that I had fallen head over heals with the boy and our meetings as 'friends' had become as dates for me.

"Seeing my tomato like colour K had dropped the gun and remarked,

'Bingo!' Before he had horded me out of the house and told me to 'go get them!'

"I bought out a penthouse suite and then sent him an invite to come and part with me.

"I will make no secret in the fact that I was nervous and that I spent a good hour changing my outfit only to end out in the one I had started out with.

"When he arrived he was decked out in his casual gear, clutching a board game and a small wicker hamper.

"I was stressed and thus not the best of company for an hour and then he stole Kumagorou and did a little dance with the bunny that eased my tension.

"We ate dinner in a polite fashion before he decided to have a food fight and after clearing as much of the mess as we could we decided to break out the game, which turned out to be Monopoly.

"Thankfully I had long since memorised my American board and thus the Kanji posed me no problem what so ever.

"I had found my courage by that point and I suggested to him that we change the game slightly so that it was now Strip Monopoly.

"Needless to say one thing lead to another and you'll forgive me if I don't dwell on the details, I want some aspects of my life to remain private, after all.

"Having him with me…having his love…it made me feel unique and though it made sense to tell those that we cared about we both decided early on that we liked it being just the two of us.

"Of course K had to be told that there was someone in my life, but I made sure never to specifically mention a name or a gender.

"A year after that first night I got the call from Noriko regarding Bad Luck and their concert.

"Of course I leapt at the chance of being in Tokyo even if for only a little while and I soon found that in Shuichi there was something to admire and a talent beyond compare if he would only learn to loosen up a little more.

"I recall the phone call I got from my boyfriend the night Noriko had arranged for a meeting of the Grasper members. Apparently he had been hoisted out of the apartment with Shuichi and wishing to maintain his 'fan' persona he had had no choice but to invite himself along to the gathering.

"Pretending to have never met him was fun, actually, and I was doing really well at ignoring how handsome he looked that evening until he happened to catch my eye and smile in that oh so lazy fashion that he has reserved for me alone.

"After that I had to get out of there and he found a perfect excuse in an 'illness' which allowed us to escape while maintaining the personalities we had built for ourselves.

"Despite the guilt that had begun to swamp me I was glad for the decision to keep our relationship private after I saw how the media chewed Shuichi and Eri-san out, because I knew that at the time I could not handle such attention…could not handle people prying into the almost complete perfection that our relationship had become.

"Despite the happiness it had bestowed me I could not love Tokyo and after Shuichi found 'happiness' with Eri-san it made sense for me to go back to New York and try again with my solo carer.

"I suppose I should have seen that eventually my constant trips to Tokyo or the correspondence I maintained with him in Kyoto would arouse suspicion…

"To be honest I believed that everyone would keep believing the act I put on for them…believed that they would never think that naive little Ryu could have an adult relationship." He pauses then, his fingers absently twirling the gold band on his index finger before he enquires,

"I wonder could I ask you a question, or should the interviewee merely stick to answers?"

"You may ask me anything, Sakuma-san, as long as you recall that I will be writing the question down.

"Of course. What finally got you to realise who it was that I was seeing? I mean for months now I have seen my name attached to some of the brightest starts of this country and then suddenly there were pictures of him all over the papers."

"A reporter in Kyoto saw you together and after a great amount of research to assure that his story was correct he sold it to the tabloids over here."

He nods and she quickly scribbles a few more notes before she enquires,

"How do you think your friends have reacted to the news?"

He smirks and replies,

"I had a long involved phone conversation with Shuichi this morning in which he tried to discern if it was some sort of a joke and then when he realised it was not he went on to discern if I was mad that he had kissed my boyfriend.

"Then Toma rang and gave me a warning not to hurt his brother-in-law which rather scared me if the truth be known.

"After that came Noriko's angry call, in which she asked if my brain had been stolen by space aliens or something along those lines.

"In other words I think that are reacting just as I thought they might."

"Will Mr Uesugi be coming to join you in America now that this secret has been revealed?"

"Actually it was to that regard that I asked for this interview and that other thing I mentioned to you when I called."

This was the moment she had been waiting for, the major exclusive that would earn her a story on network television just as she had always hoped and dreamed.

Producing the tiny camcorder that Sakuma had requested when he had phoned to arrange the interview she pressed the record button and enquired,

"What do you have to say, Sakuma-san?"

The man smiles to the camera, this one truer than those that had come before and then he says,

"Tatsuha, the game is up and it is time for us to decide whether this is worth a shot or not…whether we want to go to the next level of commitment.

"I love you and I want to spend my life proving that to you if only you will let me."

She presses the stop button after a moment recording the serious expression that is now on his face and smiles to herself as she pictures the money she will earn by selling this clip to not only the American networks but to the international companies also.

………………………………………………………………………………...

By the next day the small clip, along with an interview with the journalist that had taken it, is being broadcast almost internationally and by the afternoon a flock of journalists are camped in front of Sakuma-san's door.

At one o'clock precisely the press are met with a loud gun shot which seems to announce the appearance of the young man they have been waiting for.

They go to scrum him, to ask what he will be responding to Sakuma-san's proposal, but another loud gun shot from the vicinity of a man who turns out to be Bad Luck's manager, stops them in their tracks.

The boy comes alone to the doorway and he has only to knock once before Sakuma-san is there, a welcoming smile clear on his face.

The young man whispers something to him and the older man smirks before he wraps him into an intimate kiss.

They do not separate immediately despite the flash of cameras and the press of the journalists about them.

Once the kiss is broken Sakuma-san answers as many questions as he can before the young man stops him with a hurried burble of Japanese and answers each question posed to him in broken and heavily accented English.

"Yes I have accepted Ryu's proposal, yes I shall be moving out here to America, no I will not be coming immediately , yes that is because I wish to finish my schooling…now if you do not mind Ryu and I have some catching up to do!" He smiles brightly for the cameras and then ceasing Sakuma-san's hand drags him off into the privacy of the house.

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T: A few things before I go…the whole idea of Tatsuha and Ryuichi being an item during the cannon of the series came after seeing their first meeting in volume 3 (I think). It just seemed to me that there was…something…there between the pair and so I made this jump of intuition. I've twiddle a little with the Ryu personality because to me it seems like both his stage presence and the child like act he puts on otherwise are a part of a greater well of intelligence and charm that he's keeping to himself. The dead parents and the brother killed via suicide are a plot construction to give my lovers an equal footing to start their relationship on. Oh and I know that I said I've only read as far as 7 but I know Ryu goes back to America in the manga and thus he does as such here. Ryu being a little lax as far as his native language is concerned seems to be one of those fan canon things and makes enough sense that I've put it in here…I think that's it! R+R and I may write a sequel with Tatsuha.


	2. Tatsuha

The interview 

2: Tatsuha.

T: By popular demand I bring you Tatsuha's end of this tale…again I stress that I have not read past volume 5 but I am aware of a few things that occur after that so they'll more than likely be included. I don't own the characters…though my 21st is fast approaching and I've made a request for Ryu so you never know! Warnings remain the same.

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He was not outwardly apprehensive but the constant twirling of his engagement ring shows clearly the truth of his feelings.

"We have all read or heard Sakuma-san's end of this tail Mr. Uesugi, but I wondered if you might give your account."

"You may call me Tatsuha and I'd be more than happy to tell you my end of things." He replies, his deep voice no longer hesitant even though he is speaking an alien tongue.

"Has Sakuma-san been teaching you English?"

"Actually I learned the language once Aniki…sorry…once my brother, came back from America. The reason that I was so hesitant with the American press the last we talked, was that I was a little out of practice.

"But I am rambling and I am sure that your readers will not appreciate such things…

"While she was alive my mother used to say that she often thought about what would have happened if she had not gone to the little park in Kyoto all those years ago.

"She had been ill the day before, you see, and she was little in the mood to go picking roses as was the family tradition at that time of the year.

"If she had not gone that day then she would never have met my father…never would have had Mika, Eri or myself…a thought that she used to say scared her beyond the word, something that I only really understand now.

"You see if I had not been brave and sent that first letter to Ryu I can guarantee that I would not be sat here talking to you now.

"That thought scares me beyond the word, because Ryu is everything to me…because he has made me who I am today.

"Still, saying that, I wish I could have had something else to write to him about…wish desperately that Eri had never had to go through any of what he did…but maybe if he had not then he would not have met Shuichi…

"I am rambling again and I would apologise but it seems that this is my way of coping with the odd sensation of watching someone write my words down…using lots of little, random, thoughts to join into some disorganised collective.

"I sent that first letter to Ryu because, at the time, he was as a god to me and I believed that he could solve anything given half the chance…that and I thought that what with his brother's suicide he might understand.

"It took me so long to respond to his reply because even if his advice did not help Eri it did help me and I wanted a way to say thank you.

"What the heck could a 15 year old monk get a rock star though? A question that I wracked my brains over for a whole week before I lied my way into a part time job in hopes that with a bigger budget I might find the ideal present.

"In the end a ring seemed the best idea, Ryu wore so many of them back then that it was clear he loved them.

"Having Toma around all the time came in useful then and I tricked him into telling me Ryu's ring size…

"As you know Ryu liked the letter I set him enough that he again responded and after that we became pen-pals.

"It was nice to learn about the man behind the mike…nice to realise that he trusted me enough to show me a side of himself that no one else had seen.

"The real Ryu is a little bit of an enigma to me even now…intelligent yet childlike, deadly serious yet playful…he was intoxicating and little by little I found myself falling for him.

"When he talked about meeting that first time I could not believe my luck and I am half sure that I would have spent the entirety of that first interaction just simply staring at him if he had not been hyper enough to put a stop to such things early on.

"Ryu told you that he found things a little stilted and I'd agree whole heartedly, mostly because it took me a fair while to actually get used to the way that he seemed to change moods almost instantaneously.

"He started coming to see me quite regularly after that first visit and though it was nice to be able to see him so regularly, I found it also frustrating and difficult.

"Frustrating because every time I would see him I would have to fight the temptation to simply kiss him and difficult because I had to keep finding reasons to go and visit Tokyo.

"Eventually I settled on the 'I am going to see Eri' excuse because father had no desire to phone my brother to check to see if I was really there.

"Ryu's invitation to join him at his hotel suite came while I was still in school and I all but rushed through my assignments in hopes of making the day go faster.

"The invite had specified that I bring lunch and something to keep us entertained, so I whipped together a simple hamper and dusted off my old Monopoly board before I made my excuses to father and headed out to Tokyo.

"I was halfway through the journey when I suddenly realised that I was still in one of my most casual outfits…though in the end, what with the food fight and all…it proved to be the most sensible choice.

"That night changed the relationship between Ryu and I…changed me a little, if the truth be known…

"Ryuichi Sakuma wanted to be my lover…wanted me as much as I had wanted him… things like that could easily give a man an ego and boy was it tempting to yell about this from the rooftops.

"Ryu wanted some time for 'us' before we went public, though so I bit my lip and resisted the all too frequent temptations to get one over my friends.

"Thankfully a distraction came in the form of Ayaka's disappearance and the subsequent hunt for her.

"I looked almost everywhere in Tokyo for her before I decided to see if my brother had any idea of where she had got to.

"He was not in so I used the spare key that one of Eri's flings had given me and let myself in…I had been there only two…maybe three minuets when the door bell went.

"Mika had told me that Eri's new boy toy looked like Ryu nut seeing him for the first time…

"I am ashamed to admit that I got just a little carried away with the fan persona thing and may have inadvertently ended out molesting Shuichi…something that got me into Ryu's bad books for about a week until I convinced him that it was all just part of the act…though I suppose he will be mad at me again when he reads this interview."

He sighs and running a hand through his hair he smiles again and says,

"I was surprised to see Ryu on my doorstep all of a week later, a bright smile clear on his lips.

'Tatsuha, guess what?' he enquired, a playful spark coming to his eyes.

'I knew that that spark could only mean trouble and leaning against the doorframe I enquire,

'What?'

'I am going to be staying in Tokyo for a while.'

'Why?'

'Because Noriko wants me to introduce myself to this 'bright new star' who is a little like me and I'll even get to do some singing…isn't that great?'

"Of course who else could this 'bright star' be but Shuichi? Thus I had to request,

'Ryu, be careful with him please.' He raised his fingers in the victory sign and sniggering replied,

'Always.'

"I roll my eyes and grabbing his chin I stair deep into his eyes and remark,

'Ryu…I know you far to well…try and keep yourself low key, otherwise I may have to do something rash.'

"He leaned into me for a kiss and once he was assured that I was breathless he pulled away and remarking,

'Trust me!' he hoped back onto the motorcycle he had rented for the day.

"As you know he created chaos at the concert and keeping my promise I skipped work and performed my 'angry fan' routine for Shuichi and my brother.

"Unfortunately that performance led to us being kicked out and me having to find a sneaky ally where I could quickly phone Ryu to warn him that I was going to be with Noriko when she arrived.

"It was kind of inevitable that we would not be able to keep the distance between us the whole night, our relationship having never escaped the 'we can't keep our hands away from one another' stage…but it was fun pretending to be strangers both then and on the day that Toma invited me to spend a day with Ryu at the zoo.

"Though I'd seen how fired up the whole 'hit stage' incident had gotten him I believed that he's do a few interviews, sing a little with Shuichi and then fly back to America. Thus when he told me he was staying…that he had decided to re-form Grasper…I am ashamed to admit that I cried a little.

"I got used to being able to touch him every day…got used to being able to see his face or hear his voice whenever I wished and so when things settled out between Eri and Shuichi and Ryu decided to go home…

"I reacted in a very immature fashion and instigated the very first fight that Ryu and I had ever had.

"He rang me from America to apologise and to tell me, for the first time, that he loved me.

"How could I not forgive him after that, especially when I felt the same way…especially because I had been angry only because I believed that he had gone back because he did not love me.

"The day that the press found out about my relationship with Ryu was, rather unfortunately a Wednesday.

"You see father had gotten into the habit of purchasing a weekly paper so that he might comment on how ashamed he was of Eri's 'depraved' lifestyle… He'd specifically chose the Wednesday paper as that was the only time in the week that the deliveries came anywhere near the temple.

"Instead of waking to the beep of my alarm clock, I was woken to my father storming into my room and demanding that I tell him if what the paper said was true.

"No matter my father's prejudice or his vein belief that I might be the one Uesugi to pass on the name, I refused to be ashamed of loving Ryu and thus I looked him square in the eyes and told him that yes, every word was true.

"I expected him to get angry or to kick me out…I did not expect him to sigh and remark,

'Then I will be the last.' Before he left me on my own.

"School was a nightmare, what with the girls wanting to know explicit details and the lads refusing to speak to me…though there were a few boys mixed in with the girls and visa versa.

"Then at break Shuichi phoned me to ask about double dating and to tell me off for lying to him about how close Ryu and I were…then my brother stole the phone and gave me lots of advice on how to deal with childlike lead singers.

"That put me in a enough of a good mood that though I was hounded again after break I remained with a smile on my face.

"I was at my brother's apartment the day the broadcast came on and as I watched the honesty in Ryu's eyes…the complete and utter truth behind his desire to be mine forever…

"My brother told me later that I fainted and that would easily explain why once moment I was sat watching the TV and the next I was in the back of my brother's car with a suitcase sprawled over my lap/

"Apparently while I had been out K had appeared and ordered that I was sent out to Ryu to give my answer to him face to face.

"And you know what happened next."

"Thank you, Tatsuha…if you would not mind one more question, when is the 'wedding?'"

He flushes only barely and after a moment of silence replies,

"Ryu decided to have it on the three year anniversary of the day we met, so that will be a month from today."

"Thank you, Tatsuha and I wish you all the best for the future."

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T: There we go…hopefully that's all the lose ends tied now…I'm sure more will crop up as I continue to read the series but we'll leave those be! R+R…you know you want to!


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